Challenges for a Wind Generated Power Supply on Sark – Heavy Lift News
21 Jun 2024

Challenges for a Wind Generated Power Supply on Sark

Off the Normandy-France coast you can find the Channel Islands. Twelve kilometers east of St Peter Port on the Channel Island of Guernsey you will find the Island Sark, 38km west of the Cherbourg Peninsular.  With a population of about 500 people Sark is one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads and only tractors, bicycles and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed.

Until now the island’s electric power supply is generated by diesel generators. With the reasonable wind speed of the Channel Islands, wind would be a good alternative to harvest energy and the wish of the islanders is to install two second hands wind turbines.

one of the tunnels from the habour

However, the challenging thing is that the only way to get all the necessary supplies on Sark is through one of the two tunnels. So these tunnels define all the dimensions.

Business in Wind’s Wim Robbertsen visited last week Sark for the second time. The visit was together with Gillian Jones and Iestyn Morgan of Infinite Renewables. They take care of the integration of the complete system. Wim investigated with the others the possibilities of getting wind turbines, and all the equipment to install them, through the tunnels. As a simple solution to figure that out they made a wooden frame to see what maximum crane size could go through.

A crane company and barging company joined to investigate the options of, for example, a beach landing with the equipment.

Iin a project running parallel to the wind turbines is to install solar panels and a battery system on the island. That would limit the use of diesel fuel and would be a great step towards a renewable energy system on Sark.

This is an ongoing situation which HeavyLiftNews.com will follow with interest.

Source Gillian Jones, Head of Operations and Project Delivery at INFINITE RENEWABLES LIMITED on LinkedIn.com

Featured Title photograph

Sark windmill from an old postcard. Date c1905 Public domain

 

 

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